Birdie's Business

IPhone Photo Dump

2012-02-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

Fall

Taken on Christmas eve

Pony ride!

What our playroom looks like these days:)

Watching Rudolf for the first time.

On my 29th bday:)

This goes way back to the summer. Sigh, Love.

First time taking the bus! We love.

Cousins and pumpkins.

Aww Stripey.

Santa Photo at Matsqui Trail Stables.

We love you Stripey

The Ellen loot!!! Woot Woot

Again.

Obviously there is no rhyme or reason for these photos, just some of what life is like around here:) and for those of you that are getting bored of the Ellen photo;)

Dad meets Ellen!!!

2011-12-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

You will have to tune in tomorrow, Mon. Dec.5Th (3 or4pm)on CTV to watch it all go down! Its going to be hilarious:)

Summer

2011-07-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

August long weekend we went camping to Lundbom lake near Merritt. This was the second time we've been there. It is really beautiful but fairly windy and it does get really cold at night. We went with friends of ours this time, the van der Horst's! So fun:)

Great place to fly a kite!

Buddies with matching hats!

Best friends Lilah and Farrah!

One of the MANY frogs that we caught.

Sweet Keaton:)

Daddy and Declan getting the fire started.

The cows were a great source of entertainment. Even at 6:30am with all their "mooing".

Travis and Keaton.

Posers!

The boat was lots of fun for the kids to play in. And it was fun on the water too!

Ready for marshmallows!

Declan and Stripey. Really he's not strangling her!

Pajama time!

This is at Lundbom lake as well. We went camping with Aaron's family for a weekend in July and had a really great time:)

Cousins Cali and Lilah.

Can't beat that view!

Family potluck dinner. Everything was so good!

There is always very few pictures of me because I'm the one taking them. So I handed the camera to Aaron to snap a few.

Catching frogs is always fun!

My Graduate

2011-06-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Posing for mommy!

She's recieving her certificate from her teacher Miss Karen.

She watched the teacher very intently while they were singing and doing the actions!

We loved preschool! Sad its over but excited for kindergarden:)

The Party

2011-06-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lilah's birthday on Saturday by going to Matsqui Trail Stables and having pony rides! It was a hit and the kids just loved it, it was also a beautiful, warm day:)

Lilah riding "Angie"!

Oh so sweet! Cali had a great time, Sophie not so much!

Declan's very first pony ride! He did so good, all the kids did.

The unicorn cake Nana and Aaron made for Lilah. It was delicious!

Sophie:)

Enjoying the cake.

We ended the day by watching game #2 outside in our outdoor living room! So fun.

The kids enjoyed swimming in the hottub and everyone had a great time! It was a really successful, fun, super awesome day, oh and birthday!

Beautiful Girl

2011-05-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Lilah! You are growing up so fast:( You have such a wonderful and caring spirit. Daddy and I love you very much!

Glorious MEXICO!

2011-05-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Aaron & I. This picture was taken the last night of our holiday, as you can see by our tanned skin:)

Dave & Julie.

Travis & Colleen.

Aaron & Travis.

Mi amigos! At the mexican a la carte restaurant.

Posing just slightly!

At the beach in Playa del Carmen. "Groupies"

Enjoying the sunshine on the Fat Cat catamaran.

And the waves of course!

Pool buddies:) We spent a lot of time here! Ahhh I love Mexico and can't wait to go back. A week just goes by way too fast! Thanks to everyone who watched our kids while we were away! It means so much to us that we have so many family members who live close by that are willing to do this:)

Declan's 2!

2011-02-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

The kids craft!

Grandpa and Jeanie holding baby Sophie.

Travis and Keaton.

Great Grandpa and the birthday boy!

Nana and Sophie

Here are the kids crafting away!

Lightning Mcqueen cake made by Auntie Holly! It was a hit and so delicious.

Yummy!

Mommy, Daddy and Declan. All in stripes.

Presents!

More Presents!

Declan and Keaton playing on his new tractor! This is by far D's favorite gift:) Thanks Papa and "Show". (a.k.a. Flo as Declan likes to call her;)

A few pics

2011-01-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is in Julie's apartment! Three women and a little lady:)

Auntie Jiji:)

My new cozy housecoat!

We had a gun fight! Dad bought 6 guns and a whole lot of ammo!

The traditional Rempel family christmas picture.

Declan's favorite gift! Because it was from his mommy and she knows him all too well;)

Even Auntie Julie likes it!

A year in review

2011-01-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me know that my memory fails me from time to time, so I thought I would take a look back at my calendar and write down significant events from 2010! It was a great year and we did a lot of great things.

Starting in January when Aaron bought his BMW! He's always wanted one and he finally got one. He got a great deal on it but the $ he's spent on it since has more than made up for his "good deal" :(

February was a fun month! We starting planning a trip months before and finally Feb came and we went to Mexico with some really great friends, but not before celebrating Declan's 1st birthday! Although we were technically away on D's bday (Valentine's day) we had an early party for him:)

March was one of those months where nothing significant happened. One of those long winter months that you wish you could just skip.

April Aaron turned 28! And Declan took his first steps finally (14 months old!)

May we celebrated Lilah's 4Th birthday!

June was Lilah's ballet dance recital! She did so awesome and LOVED it!

July came up quickly and although we love camping we do not love it in the cold and rain:( We had already planned the time off and the long weekend worked out well except that is was so cold. I don't think we'll make that mistake again but we did have a good time and the kids still loved it! Aaron and I also celebrated our 8Th anniversary! And mom & dad's 30Th anniversary came a week later. Also in July I started watching my niece Cali everyday:)

In August Aaron and I, along with our friends spent a weekend in Vancouver. It was so nice to get away and enjoy the beautiful city. I think we may have to make it an annual event because it was just so much fun:)

September Lilah started preschool! She has loved every minute of it. Also Julie (my sis) finally made the big move and her and a friend rented a condo together! I love that she moved out and see her more now than when she actually lived at home.

In October my mom-in-law and I flew to California to be there for the birth of my niece Olivia Teresa, unfortunately we were and hour and a half late and just missed it! But I got to spend 5 days with her and am so fortunate! I loved spending time with my nephew Aaron also and getting to know him better. I put Lilah in skating lessons too and she did so well.

November I turned 28! And Julie turned 25. Julie had a major scare with what they thought was a tumor. She had a brain biopsy and on the same day my bro, Tim, had a big fall at work. Not a very good day in the Rempel household:( We didn't get the results from Julie's biopsy til Dec but it was good news and brought our whole family a lot closer. She has cortical displacia (Sp?) which just means her cell grow in an irregular way but its not serious and we can thank God for that! I also took a short trip with 2 girlfriends to the Island to visit Lilah's midwife Jane! She is an awesome person and a small getaway was just what I needed this month. Sophie Marie, another niece of mine, was born on the 30Th! being 10 days late we were all waiting anxiously.

December was a good month! Nothing significant really happened but we did have an amazing Christmas and I can only look forward to 2011 and hope its as good as last year!

5 more sleeps...

2010-12-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

We went to Disney on Ice at the beginning of Dec. Lilah and Farrah had a blast!

Decorating gingerbread houses at Auntie Julie's!

Lilah holding her newest cousin Sophie. She LOVES her!

The best part about Christmas... cookie dough:)

Yummy.

Watching the train go round and round at Art Knapps is Surrey. Declan was thrilled with it!

THOMAS! The kids had a blast on the train ride. But Declan didn't really like the trains face:O

Posing in the Christmas trees.

Lilah's preschool "concert"! They were so cute and sang a bunch of songs as well as recited some poetry:)

She makes me so proud!

A New Neice!!!

2010-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sophie Marie Lehner was born on Mon. Nov.30th (only 10 days late;)! She weighs 8lbs 6.5oz. So exciting to finally get to meet her! I took Cali and Lilah to see her in the hospital when she was just 2 hours old. Lilah can't get enough or stop talking about Sophie and when she can hold her next. Now for an excuse to pop by... chicken chow mein! This was a request from Julie and I'm happy to oblidge:) Congratulations Julie, Greg and Cali!

Pumpkin Carving and a Craft!

2010-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

We got Holly October craft in the mail the other day! Lilah and Declan wasted no time and got right to work.

This is Lilah's finished project!

Declan's busy working away:) He loved being able to put the stickers wherever he wanted. He did a really good job with hardly any help!

This is his finished project!

He's very proud.

Aaron and Nana (and Lilah) grew this gigantic pumpkin in our garden this year! Lilah couldn't wait to carve it for Halloween so they got right to it.

This year Lilah didn't mind the slime at all! She helped pick all the seeds out so that they could plant them again next year.

Everyone admiring the finished project. It had to be a scary face according to Lilah.

OOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Miss Olivia Teresa!

2010-10-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Olivia Teresa Vaino was born on Mon. Oct.4th at 11:02am! Nana and I arrived at 12:30pm just an hour and a half later! What a surprise:) It was so amazing and I was so glad it was over for Katie. We have been enjoying her ever since! All 9lbs. 2oz!

Big brother Aaron meeting his sister for the first time:)

Olivia has quite the set of lungs on her! She knows what she wants and is not very patient;)

Trying out the soother for the first time. She is a very sucky baby, just like all the rest of her cousins:)

Nana and Olivia.

Puppy giving little sis a kiss. Lots of snuggles with daddy!

She was just a couple hours old here. She's not even wearing any clothes yet:) And she's as bright eyed as ever.

A few more pics.

2010-09-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

First day of preschool! Lilah LOVED it and can't wait to go back on friday.

Our special craft project that Auntie Holly sent in the mail!

Waiting for the glue to dry.

The finished project! Thanks again Auntie Holly.

Photography by Auntie Holly!

2010-09-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

I was so glad to get these done! It had been a long time since we had family pictures done. I just love Holly's pictures and am always happy how they turn out! Its not easy to get both kids to look at the camera at the same time and smile:) Thanks again Holly! (I have a little something to give you next time I see you!)

August is nearly over:(

2010-08-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Declan's very first close up look at a fire truck! He's been obsessed ever since.

We went to our friend Beckhem's 4Th birthday party at the Ft. Langley fire hall. Poor Lilah was the only girl there but she was right in there with the rest of them!

Everyone got to take turns spraying the fire hose. She loved it!

Decs' is really good with the little chicks. He loves holding them and chasing them around.

Farrah and Lilah holding the 2 day old chicks! Always a highlight around the farm.

This poor chick is hanging on for dear life!

This past weekend Aaron and I and some friends went to Vancouver for a couple of nights away from the kiddies! We ended up zip lining on Grouse Mountain! It was really fun and what made it even more fun was the group we were with... a bunch of yahoos;) (the men anyway)

Here we are doing "the starfish" position to try and slow ourselves down. It doesn't really work all that well and when you hit the spring at the bottom you hit hard. You have to brace your body for the impact. It was fun to race each other though.

Aaron's coming in nice and slow:) Actually on this run you hit the spring and go backwards over the water.

We went for dinner at Joey Tomatoes! Such good food. Travis and Colleen, our travel buddies:)

Aaron and I.

Sweet Declan, always ready with a smile and a tongue hanging out of his mouth. He did say "cheese" for this picture.

2010-08-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

Ahhh! Now that we've been having some good summer weather the kids and I are really enjoying it! I've been watching my niece Cali for the last two weeks (4 days a week) and having a third child in between the ages my two is definitely a lot busier! It makes the day fly by and since we can be outside I can get my tan on:) I will be watching her until my sis-in-law Julie goes on mat leave, probably in Oct?

Declan will be 18 months this month and wow has he recently grown up! He's trying so hard to repeat words and talk. So far he mostly repeats sounds and voice pitches:) He does say "Lilah" but it sounds more like "ila". He absolutely LOVES the outdoors and just cries at the front door, kinda like a sad puppy. For shoes he says "shhhh". He also loves to pick berries and since we are surrounded by blueberries and blackberries he's picking all the time. Unfortunately he doesn't know how to pick the ripe ones yet.

In spring Aaron and his mom planted a vegetable garden and I am reaping the benefits now! I love going out there and picking what I want to have with my dinner. So far I've used lettuce, carrots, beets, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes (which are just starting:) We also planted an herb garden and from that I've used cilantro, basil, thyme, chives, rosemary, spinach, and sage. I just love it! Can't wait for corn on the cob and more tomatoes than I know what to do with!

Lilah starts preschool in Sept and she is beyond excited! I am too actually. I couldn't put her in last year because my vehicle wasn't available for me on those days so she is very ready now for some structured school time:) I am afraid she might need an interpreter though because I sometimes can't even understand her! Her r's and st's sounds aren't so good but I know she'll grow out of it eventually! Anyway I guess thats all for now! Just want to enjoy the rest of my summer. And in fall 2 new babies will be added to the family and I can't wait! Its been a while since I got to hold a newborn and I need to get my baby fix on;)

Camping and other stuff

2010-07-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

My big boy! 17 months old and just as cute and hilarious as ever! I think this is my favorite age besides 6 months and 4 years old;)

Out on the boat! Lilah loves it.

Declan had a good time too, but he's very serious.

At Hayward lake.

Cooling off with a popsicle.

8 years together:)

Story time before bed. Lilah is a very good story teller! We went camping on the July long weekend and the weather did not cooperate:( We were cold but we made the best of it.

Watching and waiting. They made a squirrel trap with peanuts and a plastic bin. They actually caught one squirrel but it got away. It was pretty fun!

Pretty sure we had the fire going the whole time we were awake otherwise we would have froze.

Cowboy Declan!

Just hanging out:)

Warming up by the fire after dipping our feet in the lake. We had one sunny evening so we took advantage.

Squirrel watching.

They were so cute reading their books together:)

Flower:)

2010-06-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is Flower, Lilah's new kitten.

She is such a good little kitty:) And Lilah and Declan are really enjoying her.

This was taken on Father's Day at the Mission car show!

Lilah's costume for her dance recital! They were so cute as little dutch girls and pinocchio dancing to "I Got No Strings".

a trip to "the BIG city"!

2010-05-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Aaron had been telling Lilah he was going to take her to the BIG city and we would ride the skytrain and do all sorts of fun things so we headed off, just the three of us!In daddy's car on the way!

Waiting for the skytrain. She's pretty excited!

Here it comes!

Very first ride on a skytrain! She loved it!

Lilah thought it was so cool that she could stand up and hold onto the bar as we were moving!

Stopping for a big slice at Uncle Fatih's before we had to take more skytrain to the seabus.

The view from the very dirty window of the seabus. This was the best view of the BIG city for Lilah.

We took the seabus to North Vancouver so we could take a city bus to the bottom of Grouse mountain.

On the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It costs a pretty penny but I guess it was worth it?!

Amazing view from up there!

Having a little snack at the "Altitude Bistro" on Grouse mountain. All Lilah wanted was ice cream and that's what she got!

We saw two grizzley bears in the habitat they have up there.

They were nice and close to the fence so I got a few good pics of the bears.

Playing on the snow. Brrr, I was freezing so Aaron gave me his sweater. He said he was fine and that it was warm, he's crazy;)

Going down the mountain on the gondola. We saw a white wolf sleeping down below us as we were descending.

We went for a short walk in the actual BIG city. And found this water fountain. Lilah would probably liked to have jumped into the water!

As we were taking the skytrain back to our car we saw this really great park, so we got off and played there a bit.

Feeding a very friendly squirrel some dried cranberries!

She crashed on the way home big time! So sweet:)

2010-05-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Lilah

2010-05-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought I looked like a good idea. You never know what an almost 4 year old will say...

1. What is your favorite TV show? Mr. Maker

2. What did you have for breakfast? Toast

3. What is your middle name? Elizabeth Which when she says it sounds like "alittlebit"

4. Favorite food? Tomato soup

5. Worst food? I don't know. oh wait wait! Peppers!

6. What is your favorite color? Pink

7. Favorite lunch? Tomato soup

8. What is your favorite thing to do? Paint

9. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Wonderland ( I think she means disneyland!)

10. Favorite sport? I don't know

11. When is your birthday? May 30TH

12. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning

13. Pets? A dog Riley

14. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? No

15. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Maker (of what I don't know)

16. What is your favorite candy? Cotton candy (thanks to Auntie Holly!)

17. Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? Wonderland (???)

18. What is your favorite book? The Make-it Book

19. What are you most proud of? Farrah

20. What is your favorite movie? Strawberry Shortcake

21. What is your favorite word? Dora

22. What is your least favorite word? Yuck

23. What came first the chicken or the egg? Chicken

Walking!!!

2010-04-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

A Fresh Start!

2010-03-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

So today Aaron had the day off and we decided to dig up our garden/weed patch! 18 degrees and we took advantage of it! Thank goodness for the tractor. Aaron's a trooper and did it mostly by himself. I'm not so good at using a shovel but I'm really good at sweeping:) He also went and got a load of bark mulch and filled it all in. I wish I had taken a before picture it looks SOOO much better and hopefully I will be able to stay on top of the weeds?!

On another note Declan had is 1 year check-up today so his stats are 25.5 lbs and 31 inches tall! Basically the 75Th percentile for everything. He's just growing up so fast.

2010-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Can you say flashforward?!

Lilah's early birthday present from daddy!

"What???"

He also likes to sit on the chairs not just stand on them.

She can always get him to laugh especially during bathtime!

2010-03-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

I guess its about time I posted something again. It seems like its a month in between every post. Well we've been back for one month now and I still think back to my wonderful time away in Mexico. We are planning on going back sometime next year and I can't wait! Since we've been back and even before we left Lilah and Declan seem to have been non-stop sick:( Colds, flu's, ear infection, throat infection, the works. They seem to be 100% now but who knows, just when I think we are all better someone else gets sick. Declan still just has 5 teeth so I know pretty soon here he will begin teething all over again and I'm not looking forward to that. Decs (13 months now) still doesn't want to walk on his own. He prefers to push chairs or toys or walk along walls and furniture. Its all good I just want him to be really good at walking before we go camping in the summer. I remember taking Lilah camping in Sept and she had only started walking in June so that was not so fun for her or me. I give Decs another month and I'm sure he'll be there!?:P He is definitely a climber though. I find him all the time on top of the kids little table or standing on their little chairs as demonstrated in the picture:)

My parents went on their vacation to Mexico on the 6Th of March so Aaron and I watched the store and chickens for them while they were gone. That was a very long week for me because I couldn't leave the house during store hours. And that's the week the kids were really sick=/ It was very nice to have Aaron around a lot that week to help out. Except that the circumstances were not so good. The Friday before my parents left someone rear-ended Aaron on the way to work. So his car is in the shop being fixed and his arm and shoulder were bothering him a bit so that is why he had the week and a half off of work. He's back to work now and we are back to our regular routine around here and its GOOD! We like routine, well I do anyway and my kids really do much better having the routine. I guess thats all for now. Declan's 1 year check up is next week so I will be back to post his weight and height than:)

Mexico Pictures!

2010-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Our room and king sized bed!

The Coba lobby at the Gran Bahia Principe were we stayed in the Riviera Maya!

There is Tulum in the background. That's one of the other resorts that's all connected, it was a really big resort.

Some cool guy by the pool;)

A little too much saki?!!!

Colleen and I on Valentine's day heading out for dinner to the seafood restaurant.

The happy vacationers.

Relaxing poolside!

My pretty "wild orange spa" toes that I got done right before we left:) Oh and the beautiful white sandy beach!

Water polo in the pool.

Aaron and Travis getting their groove on;)

The manatees, or man-titties as Travis kept calling them!

Ahhh, iguana in the path!

Lots and lots of hammocks to choose from!

The Xel ha inlet where we snorkeled! So beautiful and so many fish. We also saw a baby sting ray!

These parrots were perched right in the middle of the walkway! So easy to take pictures of.

They literally poured tequila right down your throat!

At the Mexican restaurant "Tequila". Aaron just had to have his fill of Mexican food.

At the beach. Those dark clouds were looming but it was still sunny!

Creepy Mexican!

The mariachi band that played!

Our last night:( We had dinner at the Japanese restaurant and it was the BEST food I had all week! Sooo good and entertaining as well.

Ah, the pool.

Declan's 1st Birthday Party!

2010-02-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Of course the pictures are backwards:(!!! Always happens to me. Anyway this is Lilah and Farrah hugging and dancing which is not normal behavior for them. Colleen told them they won't be seeing each other for a little while because we are going away. So they hugged very tightly:)

Declan and his new drool bandanna! So cute, and I could have used these the past year with all the drool that has escaped his mouth!

Opening a big dump truck from Uncle Tim!

1st cupcake! I think he liked it;0)

We celebrated on Sunday because we'll be in Mexico on Valentine's Day! Too bad Decs was not a happy camper that day. I think he was overwhelmed and extra clingy to his mommy. This is his ducky cake that Auntie Holly made him! She also make cupcakes and cookies. So adorable and tasty. Thanks again Holly:)

2010-01-30T07:35:00.000-08:00

So here we are just 11 days away from MEXICO!!!! It feels like we have been waiting and looking forward to it for a long time, and we have been, for a whole year now. I'm pretty sure the kids will do great and won't miss us as much as we'll miss them. We are celebrating Declan's birthday a week early because we won't be here on the 14Th. He is doing so well right now. He's not teething at this moment and he's been sleeping through the night for a little while now:) He has 4 teeth. He still absolutely loves his sister. He actually says her name! He sticks his tongue out of the side of his mouth and says "La La". He can also say "ma ma" but only when he is upset and crying about something. He does say other sorta words too but who knows what they mean yet. His favorite time of the day is bath time. He LOVES splashing and standing up in the tub, both things he is not allowed to do. He's definitely not walking yet, still just crawling everywhere, and walking around furniture.

Lilah is registered for preschool come September! She is so ready for it. I would have liked to put her in last year but it just didn't work out with the whole car situation and me watching the store on Tues and Thurs. She will be going to the Central Heights Church preschool and she got to go there and check it out with me last week. I couldn't get her out of there! She's going to love it as am I! She still loves to change her outfit 50+ times a day. I get pretty frustrated with always having to pick up her clothes, and do up her buttons and ties. Its just a phase I'm sure?! Lilah is still in ballet and is really enjoying it. She loves dancing and twirling. She can go onto the computer on utube and finds princess and barbie songs and dances her little heart out to them:) Her and Declan both love really loud music, hmm, must be a trait they inherited from their daddy!

We sold our VW Golf on Sunday! Mom and I got a van before Christmas, we were just outgrowing the car. Its a 2001 Toyota Sienna and I love it! Aaron also got a newer car, a 2000 BMW. His civic died and was going to need a new engine so he found himself his dream car. Its a good thing I love him so much and just want him to be happy! And at least I get to drive it sometimes too, when I'm without the kids:) Vehicles, you love them and hate them. Thats all for now. I won't be posting until after Mexico but I'm sure I'll have some good pics!

I had to post something, its been too long again!

2010-01-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

More Pictures

2009-12-28T12:43:00.001-08:00

Of course these are out of order. I can't for the life of me figure out how to download the pics so they end up in order on my blog, anyway this is Lilah with grandpa and Jeanie on christmas day.

Lilah, Auntie Holly and all the presents!

Ready to go for a walk on christmas day. It was beautiful outside!

This is just one of the dress-up dresses Lilah got.

Mama Flo and Auntie Julie christmas morning.

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve! The infamous family picture.

Thanks for the lipstick mom! (It was supposed to be chapstick.)

New pajamas.

"What did you do?"

"No don't take my chicken away!"

Ahh, happy again:) He LOVES his chicken wings!!!

Me and my kids:)

Random pics from December...

2009-12-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

This is Lilah's Christmas dress that she picked out with daddy from Winners! Its very pretty and she LOVES it!!! Here she is looking at herself in the mirror and doing her hair. I get such a kick out of her sometimes:)

A very wild hair day!

Aaron and I ready to go to his staff party! We had lots of fun. Its so nice to dress up and go out for a night on the town:) It doesn't happen very often.

Lilah and Cali decorating cupcakes with Auntie Holly. They were very tasty and Lilah and Cali did such a good job and had lots of fun:)

Big Decs by the Christmas tree! He's actually pretty good around the tree. He likes to point and touch but he hasn't broken anything yet:)

Lilah's gingerbread house. Its already gone... in the garbage that is! Just way too tempting for her.

I love these pajamas!

Lilah has a Christmas tree in her bedroom that she decorated all by herself. She now uses that as her nightlight.

He's on the Move!

2009-11-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

Declan finally decided he wanted to move around! Here he is just days away from being 9 months old!!!

Blah Fall Days

2009-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin carving last night.

At the pumpkin patch. Auntie Holly took some very cute pictures!

Enjoying the warmer weather.

Lilah took this picture of me. She's not a bad little photographer!

Big D!

Family photo. Its getting harder to get a decent pic.

This is Lilah's dance class. They all got to dress up in their Halloween costumes this past Tues. So sweet!

Lilah and Decs in her fort.

What is that on my lap?!!!

I guess its been almost a month since I last wrote on here. Time is just going by way too fast. We haven't really done anything blog worthy lately just the usual day to day things. I love fall but I don't love the rain:( Lilah does so much better when she can go outside at some point in the day. I started working out again! I will try to get to 3 classes a week and work on my bathing suit body because Mexico will come very fast! We are going with friends of ours in Feb sometime.

Lilah, well what can I say about Lilah? She still cracks me up all the time. Its amazing how the mind of a 3 year old works. She has been having more meltdowns than usual lately and I blame it on the weather. Her new thing to do is change her clothes like 50 times a day. Every time she comes out of her bedroom she is wearing something different! And there are clothes all over the floor. She always puts a dress on and nylons and emerges as a different princess. Last night Aaron and Lilah carved their pumpkin. She was so sweet and helpful, and did not like the feeling of the squishy pumpkin seeds. She also watched me make popcorn for the first time and I've never seen her eyes light up so much! She thought it was so cool. She loves going to her ballet class every Tuesday. She does so well following the teacher.

Declan is still such a happy boy! He LOVES his sister and his eyes follow her everywhere. He is still not crawling:) But neither was Lilah at his age yet. He's 8 1/2 months now. He has his 2 bottom teeth. He says "da da da" and "ma ma ma" "ba ba ba" and he can clap his hands. He generally sleeps 9 hours has a feeding and goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. He just can't seem to drop that 4/5 am feeding, and teething does not help. Thats all I can think of for now.

Fall Days

2009-10-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is the bouncy thing at the Apple Barn. Our mom's group went there today, well three of us showed up anyway. It was lots of fun and the kids had a blast:)

There were no real pony rides there today so this will have to do.

Lilah wanted a little baby pumpkin and that's just what she picked. Except she calls it a "pumcorn". I think she's mixing up pumpkin and popcorn. I'd correct her but its pretty cute!

The girls loved the hayride.

The boys liked it too!

Playing in the bunny pen.

Lilah is taking a dance class Tues. mornings! Its called tiny dance and she LOVES it!

She also loves her outfit and would wear it everyday if she could.

Outside on a beautiful Sept day.

Kisses. Mercedes is the sweetest dog. She wouldn't hurt a fly.

Princess Lilah and Princess Farrah, best friends!

We celebrated Uncle Tim's 25Th birthday on Sept. 24Th. Lilah is so into birthdays nowadays:)

A little bit more summer

2009-09-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

I was clearly ready for some fall weather but since we had a little more hot summer weather we took advantage. We drove to Jericho beach on Sunday with mom and met up with dad who was already out there. He was promoting our chicken for dog food at paws for a cause on the beach. It was a really beautiful day. A very long drive but nice to get out. We also stopped at Kits beach to play on the playground, but that didn't last long. We were all getting hungry so we went to White Spot for supper. On the drive home Lilah was singing and waving Declan's bear around and he thought that was pretty funny! He giggled away at her for a really long time:) It melted my heart. Lilah is very entertaining!

Aaron and I both have been having car troubles. His has been in and out of the shop for weeks now. They can't figure out why the brakes are wobbling, and the golf is having issues with the transmission. It has to go back to the shop on Thurs. Its a good thing we've been able to use Julie's car because she's in Australia for 3 weeks. We know we will probably need to get something a little bigger in the next while. The golf is just too small.

Yesterday Colleen and I went for her birthday pedicure:) It was fantastic! Then we went to Presto Cucina for dinner. Colleen's husband Travis came over with the kids to have dinner with Aaron. They picked apples from our tree and made apple crisp for us. I think this should be a regular thing;) Ahhh, I love a good pedicure!

What we've been up to...

2009-08-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

We had a Neufeld get together yesterday. We got to meet Jacob, Andy and Cara's little guy. He's just 5 weeks old. Lilah was soo excited to see Sarah! They had a great time together.

Funny faces:o)

Lilah and Sarah. They were very sweet together!

Mama Flo and Auntie Marilyn. Lilah took this picture.

My cousin Lisa holding Decs and little Jacob. These 2nd cousins are just 5 1/2 months apart.

Decs and his best bud Keaton the other day.

Lilah has this obsession with blankets and hiding under them. Decs seems to think its fun too!

Brother and sisterly love!

Hanging out with the cows at the Russenburger farm.

Pretending to drive the tractor with Travis

This is at Hayward Lake.

I don't know what Decs is so excited about but it sure is cute.

Mom and Dad took Lilah to the Northwest Washington Fair! She had a blast and I had a whole day with only 1 child:)

She LOVED the merry-go-round. Thats one ride she's not scared of!

Popsicles!

Sitting so well in the bath. He just loves bathtime!

2009-08-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

My little man is 6 months old today! Wow where has the time gone? I always say that. Declan is just such a good, happy little guy:) Lets just hope he always stays that way.?. He absolutely LOVES his food. Oat cereal, beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and mum mums. He can't seem to get enough of it all. I will take him next week for his 6 month check-up and I'm very curious to find out what he weighs. He seems quite heavy. He has not been sleeping through the night the last month. I blame it on the 5 month growth spurt that so far has lasted a whole month! He is doing really well breast feeding at every feeding, thank goodness! The herbs and meds did their job.

Declan absolutely adores his daddy! I know they will be buddies:) He loves to grab and play with Aaron's face and hair. He has been sitting up on his own for almost a month now and he likes to play with his toys that way. He prefers that to lying down. He does not roll from his back to his tummy but if you put him on his tummy he sometimes rolls onto his back. I guess thats all I can think of for now.

Camping!!!

2009-08-04T09:07:00.001-07:00

I assure you that's my beer not Lilah's;) So over the long weekend we went camping at Rolley lake. It was a beautiful campsite and it was huge! We fit all three big tents on no problem. It was a fun time had by all:)

Lilah, Farrah and Kayley plugging their ears while Colleen blows up her air mattress.

Stickers in the woods.

Coloring together. Usually doesn't last long!

Just chillin in our set up campsite. Time to relax!

Little Keaton! Oh so cute:)

Peeing in the bush. Yeah if one does it the other one has to!

That's about as deep as she willingly went into the water, and she's still smiling.

Walking back with our loaded stroller.

Drinking O.E. at the table. Hopefully they censor their conversation because Tyson is there!

At Hayward lake. I love how Keaton is peeking around Decs!

Bath time!!!

They were all pretending to be babies! Each in their own toy.
We had such a good time and the kids were all so good. It really was too short and I can't wait to go back there next year!

2009-07-31T07:31:00.001-07:00

We have successfully gone 3 whole days now without ANY bottles!!! Yeah I'm so happy Decs loves boobie again:)

He's sitting!

2009-07-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

He started sitting a few weeks ago for a couple minutes on his own! Now he does it for long periods of time without falling over. He's 5 1/2 months old:) Such a big boy.

Worst Week?

2009-07-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday Lilah got a major fever in the night and was throwing up and very sick:( I maybe got 4 hours of sleep that night. She slept a lot the next day but was still sick. That night she was up most of the night and so was Declan with a fever! So that night I maybe got 3 hours of sleep. Aaron and I did what we had to do, Lilah in our bed, Aaron in Lilah's bed, Aaron and Lilah in Lilah's bed, Aaron on the floor in Lilah's room with Declan! Yea those 2 nights were HELL!!! (And so was the rest of the week) Anyways once Lilah's fever was gone the diarrhea began and lasted 5 whole days and nights. Poor girl, she pooped more in those 5 days than she had in the last 2 months. And she only had one accident! Pretty impressive. I took her to the Dr. on Friday and really there was nothing he could do:( I did get a stool sample to the lab which was NOT fun. He also let me know not to give her any dairy, I didn't know it bothered her tummy. I started her on the B.R.A.T. diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) and once that was all she was ingesting her pooping got better. So her poor little body lost a little bit of weight. She would be fine at times and than the tummy pains would come back. I could tell she was getting really frustrated and she would act out in RAGE and throw some major tantrums. Come Monday she was almost 100%! But it was a whole week of flu for her:(

Another reason why it was not a good week for me was in my stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, I lost some of my milk:( Declan started refusing to nurse at times. Since day 1 I never had any problems with breastfeeding and now all of a sudden I had to supplement because there just wasn't enough milk in there. Also my let-down would just take waaay too long for him. I think stress had a lot to do with that. I talked to the Dr. and he prescribed domperidone which I am on now, as well as fenugreek and blessed thistle. Seems to be working well. Yesterday Declan nursed all 6 feedings!!! The days before he would have at least 1-2 bottles. I also think he had a growth spurt this week because he was extra hungry all day and night. My good friend Colleen, who has taken a breastfeeding course, was incredibly helpful! She told me about breast compression which really helped, as well as lots of other helpful tips. She has some really good resources and websites. Thanks again Colleen for being understanding and nonjudgmental;) I'm really glad that week is over and I have my happy, chipper little girl back! Now I can look forward to camping this weekend!!! Oh and the last 2 nights I only had to get up once for a feeding. Ahhh sleep:) Even though its hot its ok because I can sleep in peace. Also thankyou to Mom G. for all your help this week and support! Aaron really enjoyed his time with you and Lilah too.

2009-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Standing by himself!

Sitting with sis.

He's so big already.

Having fun with Decs! Poor boy.

2009-07-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is here! Well its been here for almost a month now but now it really feels like summer to me. I can't wait to go camping Aug. long weekend! Aaron set up the tent last weekend just to air it out, since its been 2 years since we last used it. Lilah was thrilled and kept saying "I love it!" I've started making my lists of things we still need to buy, stuff we need to bring, and meal planning. Can never be too prepared;) We still don't know exactly where we are going but that can be decided pretty much last minute. I can't wait to see Katie, Ian and little Aaron again! (they're camping too)

Lilah has been hilarious lately. She doesn't ever stop talking and has a very distinctive way she talks. You have to listen very carefully if you don't hear it all the time. I have to laugh at her when she is really trying to get something out she stutters a lot and says the same thing like 10 times before she can continue. She is also very mischievous but plays well on her own. She is using her imagination more and more and its pretty incredible what she comes up with. She loves her movies and I love that she now has her own TV in the playroom so that we aren't fighting over who gets to watch what:) She sleeps so well in her new room too.

Declan is still such a joy! He loves his crib and usually naps so well. He still has 3 naps a day and is down for the night by 8:30pm. He's been waking up at around 5am for some milk than its right back to bed til about 8am. He isn't sleeping so well anymore in his car seat or stroller:( He falls asleep fine but will wake up after 20 minutes and be wide eyed. He doesn't really like being rocked to sleep either he just wants to be put in his bed with his soother and bear and he does the rest. Which is really nice but sometimes I would like a cuddle:( He LOVES his rice cereal! He knows when its coming and gets very excited. I can't spoon it fast enough into his little mouth. I think I will try giving him some veggies soon and giving him cereal in the morning instead of at dinnertime. I can't believe he's 5 months old already?:( The time has gone by so fast. It makes me kinda sad to think that this maybe is my last baby.

7 Years!

2009-07-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated 7 years of marriage! Wow time has just flown by! Aaron took me to the Phoenix for dinner on the patio. It was nice and quiet there and we had very yummy food. Aaron seems to think that this next year is going to be a good one so lets hope he's right! I love you honey! (If you read this?!!!)

Video

2009-06-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Aaron's mom took this video and it turned out so good!

Baptism

2009-06-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today we watched my brother get baptized in Cultus Lake! It was pretty amazing and I was so proud of him! He gave a small part of his testimony and it really reminded me of when I was baptized in the lake at camp Firwood in grade 11.

The church he goes to "The Bridge" held their service lakeside and at least 15 people were baptized. The singing was amazing especially because it was Brian Doerksen who leads worship there!

Family photo including Nana. Notice my new do! Short:)

Mom snapped a pic of me. There aren't very many of them because I'm always the one taking the pictures.

It was a really good day today:)

Learning to eat!

2009-06-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

200 Posts!

2009-06-24T09:41:00.001-07:00

Just hanging out!

This is what I woke up to on Sat. morning. She was soo quiet and this is why! Those sparkles are so fine and soo hard to clean up:(

Declan's bedroom! My cousin Curtis painted it last week. Yeah, no more pink for Decs!

Now all I need are a few things to decorate the walls, they're kinda bare:P

Lilah's bed. I got a curtain rod from Ikea yesterday so I could put up her curtains but I need Aaron's help because her window is so high. He hurt his wrist yesterday and couldn't do it:( I post pics of it when its done.

Lilah's closet! I kinda wish it was mine. So much space to organize and store stuff.

A Picture Post

2009-06-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Just hanging out with a chicken!

Our big 3 year old!

Decs has been doing this thing lately where he chews on his lips and tongue. Strange but cute.

Sassy girl. Oh and mittens hanging on for dear life!

Lilah actually took this picture of mom and mittens! Quite the photographer, but we already knew that, right Holly?!!!

Sharing an iced coffee. The face painting was from the VCS fun fair we attended that day.

The prized chick!

We're so mean!

Papa and my little man. They do really look alike and yet so different. I just love both their expressions:) So serious. Decs does just remind me a little bit of Benjamin Button;) He He!

Here she's holding the wild baby jack-rabbit my dad found one day. We eventually had to let it go and Lilah was okay with that.

Big smiles and a dimple. He sure doesn't get the dimple from me, that's all daddy!

Sweet sleepy little boy:)

This was not actually taken on her birthday but she likes to wear the hat anyway!

This is Mama Flo and Lilah today:) Lilah's wearing the cute dress she got from her friend Reese for her birthday.

2009-06-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

New furniture!!! We picked these out from Ashley furniture (of course) and they came yesterday! Aaron delivered them while I was out and didn't tell me so wasn't I surprised when I came home?! I love them and they are both soo comfortable:)

I think mittens has taken a liking to Decs. I have to be careful though because he likes to play with his feet.

My little man today:0)

A few more pics

2009-06-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

A family reunion photo.

Lilah at the water slides in the afternoon. We went the day after her birthday and she must have been pooped because she just fell asleep on the blanket for a good hour or so. Poor girl, too much sun.

Declan at the water slides. He didn't do any sliding but he was sure happy:)

His two favorite fingers at the moment. And the stunned look in his eyes.

At Dad and Jeanie's on their birthday. Lilah and her grandpa share the same birthday and Auntie Katie's in on June 1st so we celebrated all together. Auntie Holly made kitty cat cupcakes and a frog cake. She's amazing and they always taste SOO good!

Lilah on her birthday morning in her new princess bed. I thought it would be perfect for camping this year.

Aaron found Lilah a two wheeler bicycle with training wheels on Craigslist. So he bought her a helmet to go with it.

At the beach in White Rock.

2009-06-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Our new computer is FINALLY up and running! Thanks to Ian:) No more carting the kids upstairs just to check my email and facebook or bank account. This last weekend and week so far have been a slow one especially compared to the birthday week before. I like it better when we are busy and have things to do and people to see. Its still hard to believe Lilah is already 3?! She is so grown up already and amazes me with the things she knows and says. As you can see in the video below Lilah got a kitten for her birthday. She named him Mittens like the cat from the movie "Bolt". He is a very fun, playful kitten and she loves carrying him around and making him beds to sleep in. She also scolds him a lot because he likes to bite and scratch.

Declan gets bigger all the time. I don't want him to grow up so fast but its happening right before my eyes. He's very chatty and happy most of the time. He'll be 4 months old in a week. Right now he is basically sleeping through the night:) 8:30pm to 5 or 6am usually than eats and goes back to bed for another 2 hours. Good boy! I am really looking forward to the summer. We are going camping in August with friends and some family. Decs will be at a really good age to camp and so is Lilah this year. Should be a good time:) We didn't go at all last year but than again I was pregnant and nauseous most of the summer:(

Our playroom and Lilah's bedroom are finished! I'm loving all the space and storage I now have. I think Lilah likes it too. She adjusted to her new room no problem. Aaron and I picked out new furniture for our living room from Ashley furniture! We should get it in about a week or so. I'm very excited to get the old couch out of my living room and into the playroom and actually have an adult room. Well that's all I can think of to write. I'll certainly be updating more often now that the computer is so accessible and fast!

Mittens

2009-06-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

2009-06-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Here's Declan in a little different hat. Papa is so cruel!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-06-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

There's my girl:) Here's just a few pics for all of you who have been complaining about that darn picture of Declan in the hat;) So busy lately but a good busy! I'm so glad that summer has arrived early and we are soaking it up.

3 little buddies hanging out at the party.

She's 3!!! This is the cake Aaron made for Lilah. She insisted on a dinosaur cake so thats what she got:) I love how all the kids are ready to blow out those candles.

At the waterslides. Lilah didn't have a very good day and she did alot of crying.

What we've been up to lately...

2009-05-03T13:43:00.001-07:00

Declan wearing Lilah's hat she made at mom's group.

Happy boy!

Ready for Farrah's bday party!

The other night we were invited to the Russenburger farm for dinner. The kids all had a blast! Here's Farrah taking Lilah for a ride on the quad:)

Lilah loved the baby cows! When one of the workers asked Lilah if she wanted to give one of the calves some milk from a bottle her response was "but I don't have a boobie?!" So adorable:)

Lilah taking Woody for a ride!

Lilah's bedroom with the beautiful sunset the other night!

For Aaron's 27th birthday this year we took a trip out to Vancouver Island to visit Katie and Ian and their son Aaron! Here we are picnicing in a beautiful park at the Gorge Waterway.

Cuddles with daddy:)

Aaron sucking on Decs' hand.

Lilah and Moses! This is my friend Missy's dog, who came for a visit awhile back. I love how it looks like the dog has two piggy tails like Lilah!

Bathtime. He's getting so big already:(

Decs enjoying his crib and mobile. Its currently set up in Lilah's bedroom which will soon be his bedroom.

2009-04-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Lilah and Declan this morning. She can almost always make her brother smile:)

Here's some pictures of the addition. This is Lilah's pink bedroom. Its so nice the ceilings are 9 1/2 feet tall.

This is where her bed will go and thats her closet to the right.

Not a great pic but it shows where the bathroom is and the colors.

More rec room. There are 2 nice windows! The walls are all painted thanks to my cousin Curtis. He's so fast and efficient and did a way better job than I could ever do! Now we need to find someone who can install the carpet. You can see it through the doorway there ready to go. That door leads to the store so when I watch the store its easy for me to get to.

2009-04-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Big smiles:)

Me and the Easter bunny decorating easter eggs.

We got the kids dedicated at church the other sunday!

Lilah and dad's new dog Rev.

Concentrating very hard, actually he's taking a poop:)

Almost ready for the bumbo!

2009-04-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Declan was 2 months old yesterday! And he's still such a good baby:) He sure has changed since he was born, getting cuter by the day! We've been trying to soak up as much sun as possible, when it decides to come out. Yesterday we went for lunch at Auntie Julie's. We walked to the park and let the kids play. Declan of course slept the whole time. I can't wait til summer and warm days and just being able to let Lilah play outside as much as she wants. Right now if its raining she gets really upset and still wants to go outside but of course I don't want to! Today I'm sure we'll take Lilah to a park, its so beautiful outside. Waking up to sunshine just makes my day:)

I don't think it will be too much longer before our addition is done. Lilah's bedroom is painted and ready for carpet, which we just purchased on craigslist! Wonderful thing I tell you! We also bought her a chandelier from Home Depot, and Aaron got $40 off! That was half the price of the light, and such a good deal!

On another note we are probably going the the Island for Aaron's birthday weekend coming up! It will be so fun to see little Aaron again (and Ian and Katie too of course;) We will not be bringing Lilah along so it may actually feel like a little vacation for me! Anyways gotta go.

Goings On...

2009-03-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is the Moby Wrap Katie gave me. Declan really likes it!

My sleeping babies:) The music must have lulled them to sleep.

Kisses for her baby brother.

Uncle Tim! There are definitely some similarities between the two of them!

Relaxing with Auntie.

Well, what to write? Things are going really well around here. The recroom/Lilah's bedroom addition is coming along slowly. Dad's in there mudding today! Soon I'll be able to start painting. Lilah's had some good days and bad. A tantrum here and there but for the most part she is very good for me. Declan on the other hand is a little angel:0) He is just so happy and content. He's giving us lots of smiles now:) The last 5 nights he's been sleeping from 9:45pm til around 3:30am, has a feeding and than sleeps til 7:30amish! Sometimes even later! Its so nice too because I sleep solidly in those 5 hours, its wonderful. We have our final midwife appt next monday:( Its always sad saying goodbye to them. At least my family doctor is in the same office so when I see him I'll probably see the midwives as well:)

Hide and Seek

2009-03-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

The other day during Lilah's not so "quiet play time" I went in her room to check on her and found this. Do you see what I see? Scroll down.

Down

Down...

Oh there she is! It took me like 15 seconds before I realized where she was. What a sweetie:) When I asked her later on what she was doing and showed her the pictures on the camera she said she was putting her baby to sleep. Than she said she was hiding from the tiger! Such an imagination, I love it!

On Friday Colleen and Julie (sis-in-law) threw me and Declan a shower! I had so much fun and didn't get home until 11:30pm. That's pretty late for me. Aaron even called over there to see where I was! Lots of babies showed up, Decs has lots of friends already.

Here they all are! The oldest is 8 months and Declan is the youngest at 5 weeks. Oh they are soo cute!

Enjoying the food and company!

1 Month Old!

2009-03-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Declan was a month old yesterday. Wow what a month it has been! No wonder its gone by so fast! Decs is still a wonderful baby. He hardly ever cries, unless he is hungry than its "feed me and feed me NOW"! He is a grunter and he's noisy about it. Gets kind of annoying at 5 in the morning. His nose has cleared up for the most part finally. Lilah still loves him, thankfully. The other day she took him out of his swing and carried him up onto the couch with her. I was in my bedroom for like 2 minutes and came out and there they were on the couch together! Extra long timeout for Lilah and a GOOD scolding, as my grandma would put it! She hasn't attempted that since but now I'm extra careful. We go see the midwife again on Thurs. Interesting to see how much he weighs now. At 2 1/2 weeks he was 9lbs.2oz. He has changed so much. He is completely bald on the top of his head:( Kinda looks like a little old man. Lovely! We still love him!

Cute Video for your Viewing Pleasure:)

2009-02-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

11 days old

2009-02-25T11:01:00.001-08:00

Great Gramma, Fifi and Decs:)

All the cousins together for the first time!

Declan's 2nd bath, and he likes it!

1 week and 9 weeks:)

2009-02-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

Declan is now 11 days old and such a sweet baby! I couldn't have asked for a better boy! Since he was 3 days old he was feeding on a 2 1/2-3 hour schedule and going around 4 hours at night. I'm a big fan of the baby wise method:) And Declan is doing so well on this schedule. He is so content and really only cries when he wakes up from his nap and is hungry. I'm finding it so much easier the 2ND time around. I had so much anxiety when Lilah was a newborn, was she hungry? tired? I don't have any of that with Declan. Experience is a good thing when it comes to newborns. He does have quite a plugged little nose, poor guy, but the saline drops seem to be helping. And he still nurses well and sleeps well at night. Lilah is very infatuated and possessive of her baby brother. She does tend to smother him a bit, but loves to hold him and sing and talk to him. Aaron only went back to work yesterday. It was very nice having him around as Mr. mom:)

This past weekend was really fun! It was my niece Cali's 1st birthday on Thurs and we celebrated on Sat. Aaron's sister Katie and Ian and their son Aaron came over from the Island for the weekend. So good to spend time with them.

He's Here!!!

2009-02-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

Declan Timothy Trickett has finally arrived! He was born at 11:59pm on Valentine's Day! Weighing 8 lbs. Here's a little bit about his birth story. Saturday was a really long day for me, not because I was in labour all day but because I was a little depressed about being 1 day overdue, and having nothing to do on V. day :( I went for a good long walk with mom and Lilah in the morning, and tried to keep busy cleaning the house, like vacuuming. I was having cramping and maybe a contraction every half hour to one hour, but definitely not the real thing. At 9:30 pm I went to bed, had 2 more braxton hicks-like contractions and fell asleep. At 10:30pm I woke up having a very strong contraction the strongest yet and felt a pop. Sure enough my water had broken! Hallelujah:) Aaron was still awake and pretty excited when I told him. He went upstairs right away and told mom and dad. Mom came down and started timing my contractions for me. 2-3 min. apart so I paged the midwife. This was at around 11:10pm. Dad and Aaron got busy filling up the birthing pool which was already blown up in my bedroom and ready to go, it just needed water. The midwife arrived at 11:45pm and right around that time I had to start pushing! I was stuck on my bed on my side and there was no moving me to the pool! At a home birth there has to be two midwives present, one for mom and one for baby, well that 2ND one didn't make it in time. Declan was born at 12 midnight. Later the midwife checked her watch with her GPS satellite time and was a minute fast so he was born at 11:59pm! Can't argue with that:) I did need a few stitches, but am doing great! He's nursing beautifully and I couldn't have asked for a better baby. The first 2 nights have been hard but I was expecting that this time round so it was no surprise that he wanted to nurse for like 5 hours straight. I loved being at home and having my baby, and would highly recommend it. I don't think I would have even made it to the hospital if I had wanted to! Declan's nose was very crooked just like Lilah's but its getting much better! We are so in love already:0)

40 Weeks Today!

2009-02-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

Actually I shouldn't put an exclamation point after that cause I'm not too happy about it. Darn false labour is sooo annoying! I didn't have much of that with Lilah at all, my water just broke and I had her 9 hours later. Really wish that would happen with this one. I can't say I really want a Valentine's baby but at this point I'll take tomorrow! The waiting and anticipation is very hard but I know it will all be worth it when I'm holding my baby in my arms:) I saw my midwife again on wed. and had another sweep. I was a good 3-4cm dilated and very thinned compared to the previous week. Since than I've had tons of contractions obviously not the real thing but I'm sure its helping. I don't know how my sister-in-law Katie went 9 days overdue without absolutely going crazy?! I think its worse with the second because you sort of know what to expect. I guess that's all for now. Soon I'll be posting a picture of my boy!

39 weeks today...

2009-02-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

I saw my midwife again on Wednesday and everything is looking good. I'm probably a pretty boring client because I never really have any questions. My belly measured 35cm and I've now gained a whopping 27.5lbs. I'd say that's pretty good:) I also had my membranes swept and I'm 2-3cm dilated! The baby is definitely off to one side so the midwife suggested spending some time on my hand and knees to get the baby to move. I don't think its been very successful yet though. I'm getting all my kicks on the top left side of my belly button. Yesterday evening my back was killing me and I think it was because I went on a good long walk that morning. Today was better but I've been having a lot more braxton hicks contractions lately. Everything to prepare my body for the real thing! Oh joy:\ I had Lilah at 39 weeks and 5 days so I'm hoping its sooner with this one. Anyway, Aaron just brought home a movie and a booster juice for me, what a guy! Gotta go. I'll try and keep you posted.

37 Week Photo Shoot by Auntie Holly!

2009-02-06T13:32:00.001-08:00

Dad's 50!

2009-01-27T16:19:00.001-08:00

On Jan. 25th dad turned 50! We celebrated by taking him out to Milestones for dinner just Mom, Tim, Julie, Aaron and I! It was very nice! My MIL watched Lilah so we could enjoy our evening out, thanks again:) By the way the cigar ages you by at least 10 years;)

Mom and Dad

2009-01-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

So I did this last year when mom and dad took their vacation to Mexico so I thought I'd do it again this year! I still wish it was me in the pictures but my turn will come.

Mexico 09 Pictures!

2009-01-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

The happy couple!

I think this is the view from their room! Looking out over the pool to the ocean.

One of these is their room. Mom just loved all the flowers on every balcony.

They celebrated dad's 50th birthday down there!

Mom did her yoga every morning looking out over the ocean, and absolutely loved it!

A little more tanned in this pic!

Getting Closer!

2009-01-20T09:19:00.001-08:00

36 week belly. Only 24 days to go! And it couldn't come fast enough. I am sooo ready for this baby to be out. My back and hips get so sore by the evening and even though Aaron's massage feels wonderful it just doesn't do enough to make the dull ache go away:( I would love to have a nap every day like I did in the end of my pregnancy with Lilah but that's just not possible. Especially with Lilah no longer taking naps:( This week has been especially hard on me with mom and dad being away and having to watch the store every day and take care of Lilah and cook and clean. Friday still seems far away, that's when they get home. I do hope they are enjoying their time away in Mexico and the warm sun! I'm a little jealous. Actually I'm a lot jealous! Aaron's been very busy as well, working full time at Ashley and doing all the farm/chicken stuff. Lots of cutting and wrapping (which I've been trying to help with.) Julie has also been a big help. She's been collecting and cleaning the eggs every day. I absolutely cannot collect them anymore. Squatting down and picking them and carrying them all the way from the barn, not gonna happen! I've been having lots of braxton hicks contractions lately and going down and up only makes them worse and more of em! I've noticed that I haven't dropped yet, unfortunately he is still sitting really high which gives me lots of heartburn. I guess this post is just a lot of complaining? So on the upside I am getting very excited to meet this little guy! We have decided on a name! But its in disclosed at this point, you will all have to wait! Katie sent over a ton of newborn clothes that Aaron has already grown out of! So nice of her to lend them to me. I don't have to buy a thing for the first few months. My cousin Echo also lent me a bunch of newborn boy clothes, so nice! Anyway, Lilah's got my camera so I'd better go check on her;)

34 weeks!

2009-01-07T21:04:00.001-08:00

So here we are just 5.5 weeks to go, roughly! Definitely starting to feel finished now and ready! I've been nesting a little bit lately, cleaning, organizing, and washing baby boy clothes. My home birth kit is ready to go. I saw the midwife today and every things looking good. I've gained 23.5lbs. which is 3lbs. less than at this time with Lilah:) Makes me happy. My belly measures 32cm. The baby's head is down, thankfully and I'm not getting kicked in the ribs anymore like I was. Now I just feel his knee pushing out my side and a lot of movement really low down like hands and head, which is very uncomfortable. My lower back has been bothering me these last few days, especially by the end of the day. A hot bath helps and a massage from Aaron (I've only had a few of those;) I go for a prenatal massage on Friday, Oh Bliss, I can't wait!

My patience has been running very low when it comes to Lilah. She has decided to stop napping in the afternoon:(

I put her to bed but she just plays or whines and cries until its time to get her out. I'm going to miss my quiet peaceful afternoon time. And than when it comes time for bed at night she's again very resistant. She's been a cranky, naughty girl these past 5 days from not napping, the only up side is she now sleeps in til 8 or 9am!! She knows exactly what buttons of mommy's to push, she's too smart.

She's getting very excited to meet her baby brother and asks a lot to look at my tummy. She makes sure to let me know that the baby needs a soother when he comes. She found one I bought in the cupboard.

Someone likes to play dressup!

2009-01-07T20:56:00.001-08:00

Christmas in Review

2008-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome Christmas, and now I'm tired! On Saturday we went with mom and Elliott to the Island to meet our new nephew for the first time! The pictures go backwards.

2008-12-29T08:24:00.001-08:00

Asleep after a long day visiting with family, my two babies;)

Lilah and "baby daddy" as Lilah likes to call him!

Holding her cousin for the first time! So sweet:)

Checking out baby cousin Aaron.

Nana and her granddaughter with their cabbage patch dolls sent from Victoria from Auntie Katie and Uncle Ian!Christmas Day dinner at Greg and Julie's. Grandpa, Cali and Lilah checking out the horse.

Mom and Dad were not expecting Julie to pay them back for her school in $5 bills! She's been saving $5 a day for quite a while now. That's a lot of five's!

Hulk SMASH!!! Aaron has been wanting to buy these for Lilah ever since he saw them in Summer. Oh joy:( Well now we have at least one toy for our little boy.

Doctor Lilah checking mommy's blood pressure.

Fisher Price Princess Castle.

Christmas Eve in our new pajamas.

Christmas Eve Dinner with mom and dad, Tim and Julie, Aaron, Lilah and I!

I have a nephew!

2008-12-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

Little Aaron Trevor Vaino was born on Dec.16Th weighing 8lbs. 11oz. We are soo excited to meet him. Katie did an awesome job labouring at home and had him in a birthing pool in the middle of her living room! So proud of her, way to go! I can only hope that my planned home birth will go as smoothly. Aaron and I were supposed to go to the Island today to see them but unfortunately I got violently ill last night:( I hate the flu. Its probably for the best though seeing as the weather turned pretty ugly this afternoon. So I don't yet have any pictures of the little guy but you can check him out on Katie's blog. He's adorable:)

Snow Day!

2008-12-17T18:12:00.001-08:00

I think she likes it!

Shaq's saying "hi".

Helping shovel the driveway. It might take a loooong time;)

Daddy torturing his daughter as usual! Don't worry she had fun:)

Mama and Lilah.

This is the start of our recroom/Lilah's new bedroom. As you can see we have a long way to go.

Randoms

2008-12-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

She's getting so big and grown up!

This was taken on Sunday before our church christmas banquet!

Lilah and mom reading. One of Lilah's favorite things.

30 week belly shots.

Paint!

2008-12-09T15:58:00.001-08:00

Before

After!

Stats

2008-12-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Saw the midwife today! Her name is Carolyn and she's English and very sweet. She recently moved from England and finally is able to start working in Canada. She young too, I like that! So the baby's heart beat was 130bpm's and his head is down. She tried to help me feel it but I just can't tell?! My uterus is measuring 29cm, right where it should be. I only gained 1/2 a pound this month! Yeah because I have been consistently gaining like 5 pounds a month since my second trimester started and I was wondering if it would slow down and it did! So I've gained 16 1/2 lbs. so far, pretty much the same as my pregnancy with Lilah. The midwife gave me a book and DVD to watch about home births so that will give me something to do over the next two weeks. My next appointment is Christmas Eve! Wow time is going to fly! I'm off to help mom set up her tree:0)

2008-12-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

Lilah and her "little buddy"!

December...

2008-12-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Oh man time is just flying these days! Nov. was over in a flash, I'm kinda glad though because Lilah was sick through most of it:( She's doing soo much better and we figured out what the problem was. Ever since we started potty training her she will hold back on going #2 as long as she possibly can. This was giving her such stomach problems. She would complain about being sick and it would keep her awake at night and as soon as she would finally go she'd be good for the next day than it would start all over again. So I've been making her eat baby food prunes and shes going every day or other day instead of every 3 or 4 days! She is fully potty trained now and has not had an accident in well over 2 weeks! She also never goes in her bed at night or nap time. I still will put a pull up on her at night but she always wakes up dry and calls for me to tell me she has to pee, even at 4am.

I am feeling pretty good. I'm finding it harder to breathe lately as the baby is really high around my ribcage. My band around my bra really bothers me as well. I go to see the midwife tomorrow and every 2 weeks from now on:) That means its getting closer! I'm definitely not ready like I was with Lilah at this time. Her bedroom was practically finished and now I'm just not as motivated to get things ready. Maybe its because I know how little you actually need in the beginning and all the big things I already have, like stroller, car seat, and crib. Now I just need a room?! The converting of the garage into a rec room and bedroom for Lilah has not even been started:( I was hoping it would be ready before the baby came but it definitely won't be. Oh well, its not that big of a deal it will just mean Lilah will have to adjust to a new room and a baby brother but she's so adaptable I don't see it being a problem.

We are anxiously waiting the arrival of our first nephew any day now! Katie is due on the 7Th but most likely it will happen sooner! Katie and her husband Ian live on the Island so the baby may be a few days old before we get to meet him.

I am so not ready for Christmas yet. Every year is the same for me, I leave things last minute and than am rushing around. I wish I was more creative or thoughtful with what to get people but I'm just not:( My mom really is the same way so I know where I get it from;) We both struggle together! I guess that's all for now, maybe I'll update tomorrow with my appointment information.

Update!

2008-11-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

Wow almost halfway through November already! Sat. the 8Th was my 26Th birthday. My sister-in-law made a really nice dinner for us, Mom and Elliott, and Dad and Jeanie. On Monday we went to The Keg for dinner to celebrate Julie's (my sister) birthday as well as mine. Hers is this Saturday and she's turning 23.

I'm 26 weeks pregnant now and feeling good! This baby is a kicker. Nothing like Lilah who stretched a lot but never kicked me in my ribs. Now I'm getting jabbed all the time.Thankfully I've been sleeping really well at night, when Lilah's not sick:(

I started potty training Lilah last Monday, now that I'm no longer at Milestones. She's doing really well! A few accidents here and there but for the most part she's caught right on and is even going by herself a lot of the time. I used a sticker chart and every time she pees she gets to put one sticker on her chart, if she goes #2 in the potty she gets 2 stickers. She filled up her chart in 6 days, that's 50 stickers so we went to Walmart and she got to pick out a toy!

Yesterday, with the help of Aaron and Janelle, I painted my living room and hallway. So much better! I was so sick of looking at that yellow. Now its a soft taupe and a dark brown feature wall. Pictures to come!

2008-11-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

Taken at The Keg.

This is the cat my parents recently adopted "Wilson". Dad said he'll take any cat thats already neutered. We need good mousers around here:)

Here's a few more halloween pics. Lilah and Cali at Nana's house.

Lilah and Nana!

This was taken at Farrah's grandparents. Thats her grandma and cousins and Lilah of course!

Halloween fun so far!

2008-10-31T13:18:00.001-07:00

This is at my mom's group today! Lilah, Cali, and Emmy sort of posing. So cute!

Oops this one is sideways and I have no idea how to delete and redo just one picture!? Anyways Lilah is finding the little pumpkins Colleen and I made last night. A treasure hunt with pumpkins for the kids, so fun!

25 week shot!

My little poodle "fi-fi"!

Walking the other day at Mill Lake. Beautiful trees!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

2008-10-18T10:04:00.001-07:00

Lilah picked out the perfect pumpkin. This is the "baby one" now we have to go get a "mommy one" and a "daddy one!" (Lilah's words)

Soo hard to get them both to look at the same time, and it didn't help that my camera battery died right after this shot!

Beautiful little Cali with her pumpkin!

"Hmm, which one should I pick?"

Posing the cousins!

BEFORE. AFTER! My sister's friend Janelle helped me paint my kitchen on monday! Soo glad to be rid of the green. Now for the rest of my house... maybe next weekend?

2008-10-07T13:05:00.001-07:00

Lilah has quite the imagination lately. I always look forward to what she will do next. She's very creative and is able to keep herself entertained most of the time.

Mom, Lilah, and I made teddybear sugar cookies the other day. Lilah loved it and then she figured out you can eat the dough! That was the end of that!

Our little chef!

I'm Having A...

2008-10-01T16:40:00.001-07:00

BOY oh boy!!! I'll be dreaming lots of blue in the next 41/2 months and couldn't be more thrilled! My ultrasound went really well on Monday. We got 4 really great pictures, unfortunately the scanner decided to stop working after one:( I'm still in a little bit of shock that its a boy. On Monday I would say I was 90% sure it would be a girl. Boy was I wrong! The baby's bpm has been over 160 or more for the last 10 weeks, that's higher than Lilah's usually was. Anyway we are off to celebrate Aaron's mom's birthday and Lilah is singing it in the background as I'm writing!

Update

2008-09-25T13:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Tim's 24th birthday. 24 on the 24th!

For a week now Lilah has been singing "happy birthday to Tim" and now its finally here! She was soo excited for him.

Also a little update on Tim's house. Dining room.

Kitchen.

Living room. He bought the TV before this was even all done! Typical guy.

Bathroom.

19 week belly! Tomorrow I am officially halfway done:) And I'm soo glad! My ultrasound is on monday as well and hopefully we will find out what it is?!

I was tagged...

2008-09-23T13:50:00.001-07:00

So I was tagged by my cousin Heidi, thanks by the way;) I've never done one of these so I guess its time that you all learned a little more about me. So here we go...

Where is your cell phone? Aaron has it because technically its his cell phone seeing as he's gone all day and I'm stuck at home I'm pretty easy to get a hold of.

Where is your significant other? At work as usual. He may be out on a delivery but most likely is sanding or painting a piece of broken furniture.

Your hair color? Brown with some grey roots that are starting to show up again:( That's right, I'm 25 and already have plenty of grey hairs that I will continue to color for a very very looong time!

Your mother? Is at work, probably reading a book to preschoolers or other grade, being very librarian.

Your father? Is having his lunch in front of the TV. Probably going down for his nap now.

Your favorite thing? Hmm, this is a tough one for me. Right now it is waking up after a full nights sleep (9-10 hours) and having Lilah wake up after a solid 12 hours than cuddling with her on the couch with coffee in hand!

Your dream last night? That I was going for my ultrasound and the ultrasound tech was my dad's refrigerator guy (who was here yesterday, by the way). I had to get a needle in my foot for some reason and he made me do it myself. Than got all mad at me when not all of the medicine would go in! Stupid weird dreams!

Your dream/goal? Is to raise smart and sensible children. Who know how to make good decisions and who are happy and fulfilled!

The room your in? Mom and dad's office upstairs. We don't have our own computer yet...:)

Your hobby? Scrap booking. Although I don't do it very often I love it when I do and am currently finished up to April 2008, almost caught up!

Your fear? I have lots of them. Mainly Aaron getting in a car accident, because he is on the road so often. I also fear raising a teenage daughter!!!

Where do you want to be in 6 years? On vacation! Because it will probably be that long until we can go somewhere without kids!

Where were you last night? In front of the boob toob. Avoiding having to go into work for a staff meeting.

What your not? Going to be able to lose any of this weight anytime soon:)

One of your wish-list items? A new table and chairs that match.

Where you grew up? In the lower mainland surrounded by neighbors and friends.

The last thing you did? Said goodbye to my sis-in-law and her daughter and put Lilah to bed.

What are you wearing? Very comfortable grey pants (with holes and all) and a black t-shirt.

Your TV? Is semi-new. Our old one went caput so Aaron went to Costco and came home with a nice big one! He still should have run it by me first.

Your pet? Have none! And will keep it that way!

Your computer? Don't have one of those either.

Your mood? Lately its always on edge you never know when I'm going to snap! No not really, not since my 2Nd trimester started:) Thank goodness!

Missing someone? My sis-in-law Katie. She's on the island and also pregnant and due in December. It kills me that we can't be near each other during this pregnant time together. Love you and miss you Kate!

Your car? Is a 2003 Volkswagen Golf. Its red and as of August of this year is paid off!!! Hallelujah!

Something your not wearing? My wedding ring. I had to clean eggs and put together an order of chicken wings and forgot to put it back on.

Favorite store? Old Navy.

Your summer? Is over and I must say I'm kinda glad. That just means I'm that much closer to having this baby!

Love someone? I love lots of someones! Some big some little.

Your favorite color? Black (only for clothes!)

When is the last time you laughed? Today at Lilah trying to pick up Cali who no longer is that much smaller than her!

The last time you cried? I'm pregnant, need I say more?!

Now I get to tag you!...

Julie
Katie
Holly
Mom (Elaine)
Auntie Diane
There's a theme going here!

17 weeks!

2008-09-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

The belly is definitely growing! I've been feeling really good and its so much fun being able to feel the baby move, although it is few and far between! My ultrasound is at the end of this month too, very exciting! Thats all for now:)

Neufeld Family Reunion 2008

2008-09-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had such a good time and so did Lilah at the reunion. It was held at Camp Tulahead, in Princeton where my cousin Andy and his wife Cara and their daughter Sarah live. Andy works for the camp as maintenance. It was very cozy and thank goodness the cabins were heated because it was so cold there! Other than not napping at all Lilah did very well. She was always kept entertained and busy. I on the other hand was pretty tired. Didn't sleep very well the first two nights but thankfully better the third. I think there was around 40 people there. Out of all the cousins only three, and two spouses couldn't make it and only two second cousins weren't there. All in all I'd say it was a pretty good turnout! Some drove all the way from Colorado and others from Ft. St. John! Our three hour drive was nothing! Its good to be home and back to normal routine and maybe in another five years we'll have another reunion:)